Knicks Fans Get a Familiar Dose of Bad News

By

Chris Herring And

Joseph De Avila

Updated July 9, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET

With his decision Thursday night to sign with the Miami Heat, LeBron James, the most heralded free agent in what's been billed as the best free-agent class in NBA history, deflated New York fans who had been hoping for his arrival.

The bar was packed at the Village Pourhouse as Knicks fans gathered to watch LeBron's decision. All around the bar there were fliers hanging with photos of LeBron dressed in a Knicks jersey with the phrase, "Dear Lebron we need you." The bar was serving up "LeBomb" shots.

It was a rowdy crowd. It had the atmosphere of a Super Bowl or a Final Four. People would cheer when shots of LeBron were shown, especially shots of him wearing a Knicks jersey.

ENLARGE

Adam Weiss, a Knicks fan, reacts to the broadcast of LeBron James's decision to sign with Miami.
Associated Press

People screamed and booed when the news was announced. People yelled "Turn it off!" after it was announced.

Emotions were raw among bar patrons after the announcement. "I think he handled the situation horribly,'' said Matt Maggiacomo, 23 years old, who lives near Madison Square Garden and works in investment banking. "I will dislike LeBron for the rest of my life. Fact.''

Chael Clark, 25, who works in finance and lives in Murray Hill, said, "Buying season tickets for the Knicks now is gut-wrenching."

At SideBar, near Union Square, fans moaned in disapproval when they watched Mr. James make his choice on the bar's big screens. It cleared considerably when Mr. James said he was headed to South Beach.

Matt Egermayer, a 27-year-old who works in finance and considers himself a fan of Mr. James, wore his blue and orange Cavaliers jersey to the bar. He had been holding out hope that Mr. James would become a Knick.

Mr. Egermayer had plenty riding on the decision. He and four friends bought Knicks season tickets a year ago, in anticipation that Mr. James might join the team.

When LeBron James announced that he would be heading for the All-Star lineup in Miami, some questioned whether the choice would help or hurt the king. Either way, Knicks fans are hopeful that the addition of Stoudemire will propel the team forward.

"He was the whole reason we bought them," he said.

The team was so bad last year, he said, that "when we couldn't make the games last year, we couldn't find people to take the tickets for free."

While New York City wasn't alone in being passed over (he left his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers and also turned down overtures from the Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls), it had arguably prepared more for a LeBron James welcoming than any other town.

The city, and its mayor, officially launched a "C'mon LeBron" campaign—an expense they promised would not be passed on to taxpayers. Hundreds of "LeBron to New York" T-shirts had already been sold by individuals. Area real-estate brokers offered to help the Akron, Ohio, native find a new home.

Mr. James's decision to play in Miami left some involved in the campaign effort feeling dejected.

"It will honestly be a few depressing days and devastating weeks," said Ivan Cash, a 24-year-old art director and Knicks fan who has sold a few hundred shirts online that read "I LeBron NY" for $25 each.

"The entire success of the franchise was riding on tonight," he said. "We're talking about the prospect of getting a player that's a game-changer for a team that hasn't won in 10 years." He said the decision to bypass New York would not be good "for my T-shirt sales."

A spokeswoman for NYC & Company, the city's tourism arm, acknowledged the goal of its "C'mon LeBron" campaign was for the star to sign with either the Knicks or the Nets. Still, chief executive George Fertitta said in a statement the campaign was able to "unite New Yorkers in excitement and pride" and that itself was "something to celebrate."

By contrast, Sonny Vaccaro, a former sports marketing executive who's a friend of Mr. James, called fan campaigns "fruitless," saying they have no impact on a player's final decision. "In my mind, [the campaigns] do nothing to sway the athlete. Never have," said Mr. Vaccaro, probably best known for signing Michael Jordan to his first shoe deal.

Ironically, in joining Miami Mr. James chose a city that did perhaps the least to land him.

Hundreds of sign-toting Cleveland fans, hoping to hold onto their homegrown star, camped outside the building in Cleveland where teams made pitches to the two-time MVP. Several times, President Barack Obama said he hoped Mr. James would sign with the Bulls.

The New York market as a whole had seemingly pulled out all the stops for Mr. James. The Knicks and Nets both went to great lengths to clear salary cap space in an effort to lure Mr. James and other high-priced stars. A number of media outlets had written editorials encouraging him to sign here.

New York real-estate companies, excited by the idea of dealing with Mr. James, had offered to help him find a home here. Halstead Property LLC launched an effort, dubbed "Every King Needs a Castle," saying it would find Mr. James a New York home.

The company would donate all of its commission from the purchase to charity, said president Diane Ramirez, a long-time Knicks fan who appeared in a campaign video with former Knicks star John Starks.

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